Why this ride
208 km from Racconigi to Racconigi, about 3 h 41 of riding. It goes by way of Castello di Pollenzo, Castello di Govone, Sacro Monte di S.Maria Assunta di Serralun and back through Castello di Govone. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Castello di Racconigi and Sacro Monte di S.Maria Assunta di Serralun
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 208 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 41
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Castello di Racconigi
Racconigi is a small town on the plain south of Turin, in Piedmont, surrounded by fields of maize and rice and lines of poplars. It is dominated by its castle, a grand residence of the House of Savoy, which ruled Piedmont and later Italy. Originally a medieval fortress, it was transformed over the centuries into a palace, with Baroque and neoclassical façades, and surrounded by a vast park with lakes, woods and a farm. The castle is part of the UNESCO-listed Residences of the Royal House of Savoy, inscribed in 1997.
Read the complete Castello di Racconigi write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Castello di Racconigi is where the day begins. Next is Castello di Pollenzo.
2. Castello di Pollenzo
The village of Pollenzo was a Roman town, Pollentia, long before it was a Savoy estate, and in 402 a Roman army under Stilicho fought Alaric's Visigoths nearby in one of the last great battles of the Western Empire. Today the name means food. The castle and the neo-Gothic agricultural complex built around it by King Carlo Alberto in the nineteenth century, the Agenzia, now house the University of Gastronomic Sciences, founded by the Slow Food movement, which was born in nearby Bra. The estate is part of the UNESCO-listed Residences of the Royal House of Savoy.
Read the complete Castello di Pollenzo write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Castello di Pollenzo comes up about 29 km into the recorded legs. Next is Castello di Govone.
3. Castello di Govone
Govone is a village of eight hundred people in the Roero, the hilly country on the left bank of the Tanaro across from the Langhe, and it is dominated by a palace far too grand for its size. The Castello di Govone was a residence of the House of Savoy, rebuilt in the baroque style in the eighteenth century, and it is one of the Residences of the Royal House of Savoy inscribed together as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Inside are rooms decorated with Chinese wallpaper, and outside, terraced gardens look down over the valley.
Read the complete Castello di Govone write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 58 km into the recorded legs you reach Castello di Govone. Next is Sacro Monte di S.Maria Assunta di Serralun, 34 km on.
4. Sacro Monte di S.Maria Assunta di Serralun
On a wooded hill above the vineyards of the Monferrato, between Casale and Asti, stands the Sacro Monte di Crea, one of the nine Sacred Mountains of Piedmont and Lombardy that are listed together as a World Heritage Site. The sanctuary of Santa Maria Assunta, a pilgrimage church, sits on the slope, and above it a path climbs through the woods past a series of chapels, each with terracotta statues and painted scenes from the life of the Virgin, to the Chapel of Paradise at the summit, with a crowd of figures depicting her coronation.
Read the complete Sacro Monte di S.Maria Assunta di Serralun write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Sacro Monte di S.Maria Assunta di Serralun, about halfway. Next is back through Castello di Govone.
5. back through Castello di Govone
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Castello di Govone write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Castello di Govone sits at 136 km, about halfway. Next is back through Castello di Pollenzo.
6. back through Castello di Pollenzo
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Castello di Pollenzo write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Castello di Pollenzo comes up about 180 km into the recorded legs. Next is Castello di Racconigi.
7. Castello di Racconigi
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Castello di Racconigi write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Castello di Racconigi closes the day.
Leg by leg
Castello di Racconigi to Castello di Pollenzo
Castello di Racconigi → Castello di Pollenzo is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Castello di Pollenzo to Castello di Govone
Castello di Pollenzo → Castello di Govone is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Castello di Govone to Sacro Monte di S.Maria Assunta di Serralun
Castello di Govone → Sacro Monte di S.Maria Assunta di Serralun is 46 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Sacro Monte di S.Maria Assunta di Serralun to back through Castello di Govone
Sacro Monte di S.Maria Assunta di Serralun → back through Castello di Govone is 48 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Castello di Govone to back through Castello di Pollenzo
back through Castello di Govone → back through Castello di Pollenzo is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Castello di Pollenzo to Castello di Racconigi
back through Castello di Pollenzo → Castello di Racconigi is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.